Whether or not these concerns about China are justified or overstated, it is important to note that geoeconomic strategies are not new, nor is their use one-sided. The United States has long used geoeconomic strategies, such as international institution building and employing positive and negative economic sanctions, to achieve its national interests. But in recent years, the United States has changed in how it understands its national interests and how prevailing ideologies and institutional structures have combined to affect its pursuit of those interests.

Whether or not these concerns about China are justified or overstated, it is important to note that geoeconomic strategies are not new, nor is their use one-sided. The United States has long used geoeconomic strategies, such as international institution building and employing positive and negative economic sanctions, to achieve its national interests. But in recent years, the United States has changed in how it understands its national interests and how prevailing ideologies and institutional structures have combined to affect its pursuit of those interests.